


Virgil yawned

by Gumnut



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Family, Gen, Sleepy fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29894088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gumnut/pseuds/Gumnut
Summary: It was an important moment, but Virgil was tired.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Virgil yawned

**Author's Note:**

> 19 Feb 2021
> 
> Nutty tired, so you get random sleepy fic. Doesn’t do much, doesn’t go anywhere much, mostly exhausted fluff.
> 
> Many thanks to @scribbles97 for the reading and support :D
> 
> I think I’ll crawl into bed now…I is soooo tired.

Virgil yawned.

The rock was hard under his butt and the damn wind was cold, but he was determined to sit it out.

“Go to bed, Virgil.”

“No.”

Scott sat beside him, leg propped up, yawning just as much as he. Both of them were rugged up in ways they had almost forgotten how to since moving to a tropical island.

“You haven’t had a decent sleep in two nights. You don’t have to stay.”

“I’m fine.” That statement was ruined by another yawn, but Virgil chose to ignore it.

“Your health is important.”

Virgil snorted at the hypocrisy. Scott had come down on crutches for crying out loud. “I’m staying.”

“Until we have to lug your sleeping butt back into the cabin.”

“I’m awake.”

“I give you ten minutes.”

“Shut up, Scott.”

His brother grunted at him, but Virgil didn’t miss the concerned frown Scott shot in his direction.

Every muscle wanted to relax, wanted to curl up on the sand. But it was cold. The tiny flicker of the campfire had been minimised to cut down on light pollution. On the other side of their campsite, John and Alan were huddled over one of the elder astronaut’s prize telescopes. The contented mutter had numbers and calculations embedded in it. Alan was literally bouncing beside his brother.

This was important to them all.

Virgil was just exhausted.

Gordon, who had been out with him on every single rescue had already succumbed and was curled up not far from the fire, a rug wrapped around him. The younger operative had dragged sixteen crew members off a trawler earlier in the day. Virgil had tried to convince him to stay in the cabin, but he was as stubborn as any of them.

Sleep over took him after dinner and shut him down.

Virgil yawned again.

“Please, Virg.”

“‘M fine.”

“Gordon said the same thing.”

“Gordon did more work.”

“Bullshit.”

Virgil blinked, glanced at his big brother and decided to ignore that.

The beach was a wide one and the gentle surf was lost in the darkness beyond the pitiful light of the fire. The wind was strong enough to reach through his clothes and suck the heat from him, but if he was honest, it was the only thing keeping him awake.

Letting his shoulders drop, he tightened his grip on the coat he had pulled around him.

They could have done this on Five. It was warm up there. But it wouldn’t have been the same.

It had been thirty-four years since that comet had been spotted on this very beach by their parents and they were not going to miss the opportunity to see it for the first time since then.

It was named after their mother, after all.

The fact it had been Alan who had flown them out here this evening because their two senior pilots were pretty much incapacitated was annoying, but necessary.

The cabin was theirs. Dad had purchased it the moment it came on the market. Hell, Virgil was pretty sure their Dad waved cash in front of the owners until they agreed to put it up for sale.

It was a special spot.

The campfire flickered hypnotically.

“We’ve found it.” John’s voice was quiet in deference to Gordon’s snoring slumber, but his face was lit up with excitement.

Virgil pushed himself to his feet, leaning over to help his big brother stand up on the sand, one arm under his elbow as Scott glared at him in the dark.

It was only a broken ankle from jumping off a height that was just a little too high, but the sight of his big brother landing on his ‘bird at an awkward angle and nearly falling off had been heart stopping.

Fishing him off Thunderbird One had not been fun and Scott had not been happy.

But he was safe. Grounded and grumpy as all hell, but safe.

Virgil held him a touch tighter and Scott frowned at him again.

“Lean on me.”

“I have crutches.”

“Not on the sand and not in the dark.”

That earned him a grunt, but Scott didn’t pull away and Virgil took that as permission to manhandle his brother over to the telescope.

Alan was bouncing even more, his expression almost a light source in its enthusiasm. “We found it and it’s beautiful.”

Virgil blinked as that simple statement unexpectedly stirred long ignored emotion in his tired brain. His mother had always been important to him and despite the fact Alan was referring to a ball of rock and ice hurtling through the cosmos, it also meant more.

So much more.

John was fiddling with the telescope, muttering to Eos unconsciously. Virgil vaguely wondered how much talking occurred when his brother was up on Five. Eos was obviously a comfort to an isolated John.

And god, Virgil’s heart lurched at that as well.

So goddamned tired he was tearing up at the drop of a hat.

Maybe he should go to bed before he made an embarrassment of himself.

“Virg?” Alan was staring at him.

Of course, that prompted the grumpy pilot in his hands to stare at him as well.

For the love of-!

“John?” Distraction was the key.

“One moment, Virgil.”

Hmm, distracted was also a description of his space brother.

But John only fiddled for that moment longer and suddenly a beam shot out of the telescope and a hologram materialised in front of them.

Stars. Bright little pin points of light flickered into existence. They surrounded a single streak of light.

Virgil let out a breath that was more a sigh than anything else.

“Comet Lucy 2029.” John’s voice was somber. “Discovered by Jeff Tracy, amateur astronomer on this beach in August 2029.” A pause. “Thirty-four years ago today.”

Virgil swallowed. They all knew the story, but the only one of them who had been alive at the time was Scott and he had been a baby.

There was silence for a moment as they all stared at the smudge of light projected at them from the heavens.

Gordon snorted in his sleep.

Space was far too silent.

“Thank you, John.” Scott’s voice was quiet, reverent.

Virgil let his head drop to his big brother’s shoulder. So goddamned tired the hologram blurred.

A blink and he found himself wrapped in Scott’s arms. “Virgil, you are going to bed.” There was no arguing with that tone. “You’ve seen it. Now bed.”

Virgil grunted, closing his eyes for just a second.

They were so, so hard to open again.

Scott said something and there were more hands grabbing at him. “‘M fine.”

“Yeah, sure, bro.” Alan’s voice was mocking as he dragged one of Virgil’s arms over his shoulder and pulled him away from Scott.

“Hey, gotta help Scott.”

But Alan’s grip was surprisingly strong. “John has Scott under control. You need bed, bro.”

“Wanted to see Mom.” His brain to mouth filter was obviously shot because he hadn’t wanted to admit that.

“You’ve seen her. Now rest.” And suddenly they were inside and the lack of the biting wind was such a relief, he nearly melted on the spot.

“Sorry.”

He was rolled onto a soft bed with a grunt from Alan and a mutter involving Virgil eating less food. He had no energy to care and curled up into a ball as a blanket was thrown over him.

But...“Need to help Scott.”

“Scott is fine. You go to sleep or I’ll sic Grandma on you.”

“G’dma not here.” The bed was so, so soft and warm.

“Since when would that stop her?”

A brief flicker of fear, but Virgil was too tired to care.

“Go to sleep, bro.” Fingers touched his hair.

But Virgil was already gone.

-o-o-o-


End file.
